Quest Incident
Encyclopedia
The Quest Incident occurred in February of 2011 when Somali
pirates seized the American
yacht
SV Quest and four United States citizens. In response the United States Navy
, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, dispatched the aircraft carrier
USS Enterprise
and three other ships with orders to free the hostages. Though American forces were capable of neutralizing the threat, all of the hostages were killed. Quest was the first American vessel to be captured by Somali pirates since the Maersk Alabama hijacking
in 2009.
approximatly 18°00 N 061°02 E in the Indian Ocean
. Pirates then tried sailing the Quest towards Puntland
. Sometime thereafter the Enterprise, the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf
and the guided missile destroyer
s USS Sterett
and USS Bulkeley
were sent to the area and arrived several days later on or about 21 February. Captain
Dee Mewbourne, of the Enterprise, then proceeded with opening negotiations with the pirates, at which time two Somalis went aboard the Sterett. On the following morning, 22 February, while negotiations were still taking place, a pirate aboard the Quest fired a rocket propelled grenade
at the Sterett from 600 yards away but it missed. Almost immediately afterward gunfire was heard aboard the yacht so a boarding party was sent in on a raft and they boarded the Quest. A brief skirmish occurred resulting in the deaths of two pirates, one by rifle fire and the other by a combat knife. Thirteen pirates surrendered in the process and were taken into custody. After boarding, the American navy personnel discovered Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, of Seattle, Washington
and the Quests owners, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California.
All four of the captives had been wounded by gunfire so navy corpsmen attempted to provide medical asstance but they were unsuccessful. The bodies of two other pirates were also found aboard the Quest though United States Navy officials had no explanation for their deaths. Vice Admiral
Mark I. Fox
, issued a statement a few days later saying that the American forces involved had no intention of attacking but were obligated after hearing small arms fire. The pirate leader Mohamud, in Somalia, claimed that the hostages were killed because the American warships started to attack and he told Reuters
that "we ordered our comrades to kill the four Americans before they got killed." The leader Farah, in Bayla, Puntland also spoke with Reuters over the telephone and said "I lost the money I invested and my comrades. No forgiveness for the Americans. Revenge. Our business will go on", adding that he had spent $110,000 on food, weapons and salaries for the highjacking. Thirteen of the pirates were found to be Somalis and the other a Yemen
i; they were sent to Norfolk, Virginia
to face charges of piracy and kidnapping.
The three captured Somalis, Mohamud Salad Ali, Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali and Ali Abdi Mohamed, plead guilty in a US court.
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
pirates seized the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
SV Quest and four United States citizens. In response the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, dispatched the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
USS Enterprise , formerly CVA-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At , she is the longest naval vessel in the world...
and three other ships with orders to free the hostages. Though American forces were capable of neutralizing the threat, all of the hostages were killed. Quest was the first American vessel to be captured by Somali pirates since the Maersk Alabama hijacking
Maersk Alabama hijacking
The Maersk Alabama hijacking was a series of events involving piracy that began with four Somali pirates seizing the cargo ship southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl. This event ended with the action of 12 April 2009. It was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the...
in 2009.
Incident
According to American reports, the Quest was captured on 18 February 2011 at 13.23 UTC by nineteen pirates in a mothership, 190 to 240 miles off the coast of OmanOman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
approximatly 18°00 N 061°02 E in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. Pirates then tried sailing the Quest towards Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
. Sometime thereafter the Enterprise, the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf
USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55)
USS Leyte Gulf is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser in the United States Navy. She was named in memory of the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific. She is powered by four large gas-turbine engines, and she has a large complement of guided missiles for air defense, attack of...
and the guided missile destroyer
Guided missile destroyer
A guided missile destroyer is a destroyer designed to launch guided missiles. Many are also equipped to carry out anti-submarine, anti-air, and anti-surface operations. In the U.S...
s USS Sterett
USS Sterett (DDG-104)
USS Sterett , an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of Andrew Sterett, a naval officer who served during the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars....
and USS Bulkeley
USS Bulkeley (DDG-84)
USS Bulkeley is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named after Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley, who was a World War II Medal of Honor recipient....
were sent to the area and arrived several days later on or about 21 February. Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Dee Mewbourne, of the Enterprise, then proceeded with opening negotiations with the pirates, at which time two Somalis went aboard the Sterett. On the following morning, 22 February, while negotiations were still taking place, a pirate aboard the Quest fired a rocket propelled grenade
Rocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...
at the Sterett from 600 yards away but it missed. Almost immediately afterward gunfire was heard aboard the yacht so a boarding party was sent in on a raft and they boarded the Quest. A brief skirmish occurred resulting in the deaths of two pirates, one by rifle fire and the other by a combat knife. Thirteen pirates surrendered in the process and were taken into custody. After boarding, the American navy personnel discovered Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, of Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and the Quests owners, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California.
All four of the captives had been wounded by gunfire so navy corpsmen attempted to provide medical asstance but they were unsuccessful. The bodies of two other pirates were also found aboard the Quest though United States Navy officials had no explanation for their deaths. Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Mark I. Fox
Mark I. Fox
Vice Admiral Mark I. Fox, USN is a United States Navy officer currently serving as the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet . Prior to assuming command as COMUSNAVCENT and COMFIFTHFLT, he was the Commander of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS...
, issued a statement a few days later saying that the American forces involved had no intention of attacking but were obligated after hearing small arms fire. The pirate leader Mohamud, in Somalia, claimed that the hostages were killed because the American warships started to attack and he told Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
that "we ordered our comrades to kill the four Americans before they got killed." The leader Farah, in Bayla, Puntland also spoke with Reuters over the telephone and said "I lost the money I invested and my comrades. No forgiveness for the Americans. Revenge. Our business will go on", adding that he had spent $110,000 on food, weapons and salaries for the highjacking. Thirteen of the pirates were found to be Somalis and the other a Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i; they were sent to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
to face charges of piracy and kidnapping.
The three captured Somalis, Mohamud Salad Ali, Mohamud Hirs Issa Ali and Ali Abdi Mohamed, plead guilty in a US court.
See also
- List of ships attacked by Somali pirates in 2011
- Piracy in the CaribbeanPiracy in the Caribbean] The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 16th century and died out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1690s until the 1720s...
- West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations of the United StatesWest Indies Anti-Piracy Operations of the United StatesThe West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations refer to the United States Navy presence in the Antilles, and surrounding waters, which fought against pirates. In between 1817 and 1825, the American West Indies Squadron constantly pursued pirates on sea and land, primarily around Cuba and Puerto Rico...